Work at Salamander Resort & Spa recently reached the one-year mark and construction remains on schedule for a mid-March, 2010, opening.

After six months of initial site-work, the last six have been spent on actual vertical construction and the outline of Sheila Johnson's vision has begun to take shape; almost the entire building has been framed and crews have begun the process of closing it in.

According to Prem Devadas, President of Salamander Hospitality, LLC, a veteran of the hospitality industry who also oversaw the development of The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island in South Carolina, the time spent leading up to the initial ground-breaking last year has served the project well.

"To date, we've had no major surprises or setbacks. We had the time and opportunity to plan everything to the finest detail, and that plan is really bearing out now that we're underway.

"You always learn from previous experiences, but having owners with the kind of commitment and clarity of vision that Sheila has demonstrated only helps elevate a project of this scope and scale.

"The property will compare favorably to any in the country."

A sure sign of that favorable comparison is a corporate sales office already in full swing. Open since spring of this year, that sales office has already hosted a number of corporate representatives eager to book meetings at the Resort.

"Corporate business is one of the keys to our future success," said Devadas, "and I think the early impressions people have had to date speak volumes, not only about the property itself but the surrounding area, Middleburg and the Virginia Piedmont, as well."

Another sign of Dr. Johnson's commitment to the project and to the area as a whole is her insistence that the property be of the area and not just in it. While the property sits on over 300 acres, 70 percent of that land has been placed in a conservation easement.

The property is also already registered to be one of the country's first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified resorts. While official certification must await the completion of construction, it's useful to know what the six major areas of LEED certification address: sustainable sites; water efficiency; energy and atmosphere; materials and resources; indoor environmental quality; and innovation and design process.

"The design- and build-costs are obviously higher," notes Devadas, "but when you look at them as investments, not only in the property but in the area, well, I think it speaks directly to our sensitivities to the environment and to the clientele we are looking to attract."

Other amenities planned for the resort include: a 23,000-square-foot spa with 14 treatment rooms, fitness center, indoor pool, outdoor family pool and tennis courts; championship golf at the nearby Jack Nicklaus-designed Creighton Farms Estates; a 22-stall equestrian stable, along with practice ring, instructional programming and miles of scenic riding trails throughout the property; Virginia Piedmont-inspired dining in the resort's signature restaurant (Todd Gray, owner and chef of the acclaimed Equinox restaurant in Washington, DC, is the Creative Director of Cuisine); and a variety of luxurious and flexible meeting spaces, including a 200-year-old stallion barn, the Terrace Lawn at the Pond and the 5,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom. (The resort, which features a total of 12,000 square feet of meeting space, can also arrange group functions for up to 30 people at its private suite at The Verizon Center.)

Perhaps Devadas sums it up best when he says simply, "This is really going to be something special."

It's certainly beginning to sound that way.